Coroner’s Report: Nightmare Man

Posted by Robert Fure (robert@filmschoolrejects.com) on May 29, 2008

Hey Gorehounds. Moving right along with our After Dark Horrorfest coverage is Nightmare Man. This flick has finally come to DVD, despite the fact it was made way back in 2006. This was actually one of the first films I reviewed for Film School Rejects as part of Shriekfest. So long ago, in fact, that I think the black void that is the internet swallowed up that review and lost it to eternity.

The film is directed by nice-guy Rolfe Kanefsky and stars genre queen and cutie Tiffany Shepis. Joining her is a long list of actors I didn’t recognize and you probably won’t either. Sorry guys! The story follows a girl tormented by the Nightmare Man, a demonic being somehow connected to the fertility mask she was given as a gift. Seeking shelter after being attacked by the demon in her car, she takes up with a group of friends in a nearby cabin. The Nightmare Man is not so easily dissuaded and soon he’s ravaging all the guests with his bloodlust. Is the demon real? Is there something more human, yet equally sinister going on? Take a gander if you need to know because now it’s time for KILLeR.

Kills

The body count in this movie weighs in around a respectable six or so, with a few decent low budget kills. A bow and arrow dispatches a few people and we get a few head wounds, so that’s always nice.

Ills

The gore is ok, but never really extreme. Nothing that will gross out your average movie viewer, which translates to nothing that will really excite a hardcore horror fan. Unfortunately, the blood is a bit on the light side, without much splattering.

Lust

Tiffany Shepis does what she does best and that’s expose her naked body. You have to wait pretty far into the movie to get a glimpse, but its there, so that’s a good thing. The ladies in the film aren’t bad, no super sex pots, but some cute faces and some naughty flesh later on.

Learning

The staple “Be careful who you trust” is here, in addition to the well advised “Don’t trust in or keep creepy ass tribal things because they’re always possessed by a demon or some shit” lesson.

Review

There is no doubt that this is a low budget feature. Sadly, it doesn’t bring much new to the table either, but it plays to the regular genre conventions pretty well. The acting is about as good as you’d expect at this level, which is to say pretty average for a horror movie. I’ve said it a few times, but it really sticks in your head - this is low budget. For low budget, its pretty good. It even looks pretty good for low budget. They work with what they have and manage to at least kill a few people without boring the audience terribly. This is not the type of film that wins over the average audience and won’t please most horror fans, but for those who get off on low budget horror, it’s pretty good in that department. I didn’t expect much from it and didn’t get much, so we had a good understanding. Worth checking out for low budget fans and those who want to see all of Horrorfest, but other than that, it’s a skip. I found it to be best described as “average” or “bland and odds are you’re best just skipping this one.

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